Well civil justice fans, it’s opening day for the U.S. Supreme Court, and first up on the Court’s docket is the 
federal preemption case, Altria v. Good.
In a nutshell, the tobacco company Altria Group is trying to get the Supreme Court to scuttle a class action suit against it that was brought under Maine’s deceptive advertising laws, based on its suggesting that “low tar” and “light” cigarettes were a healthier alternative to regular cigarettes. They’re not. But the company is trying to argue that because there’s a 1965 federal law on the books that regulates this area, cigarette companies should be completely immune from liability – no matter how deceptive their advertising is.
Reports about today’s arguments suggest that the court seemed split, even though the Bush Administration was on the side of the smokers! One report said, “Justice Samuel Alito and other justices blasted the FTC for continuing to allow cigarette companies to make light cigarette claims. ‘You've created this whole problem,’ Alito said, lecturing Douglas Hallward-Driemeier, an assistant to the U.S. Solicitor General. ‘You have misled everyone who bought these cigarettes for a long time.’”
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